Spar head office has assured the community that the Malanshof KwikSpar will reopen soon.
The store had received much negative attention since it reopened on 7 February after being closed for nearly a year. It was closed for the extended period of time due to the owners going into liquidation. The store was opened in order to clean and sterilise the premises.
According to Spar’s divisional retail operations executive for South Rand, Marlene Urquhart, “The businesses [KwikSpar and Tops] were experiencing financial problems for various reasons and, ultimately, both applied for liquidation in the first half of 2016.”
Read: Spar head office responds to the Malanshof Spar debacle
The store’s premises was then placed under control of the appointed liquidators and after many months, rotting food that was left in the store attracted flies, rats and other creatures.
Read: WATCH: Flies and rats cover the Malanshof Spar after shutting its doors for almost a year
A statutory notice was issued by the City of Johannesburg Environmental Health Directorate to the liquidators on 27 January to clean and clear the store within the required time frame for compliance.
Also read: Environmental health weighs in on the Malanshof Spar saga
Since then, the store has been completely cleared of all products and merchandise. Urquhart explained, “[We] have taken beneficial occupation recently and will proceed with the revamp and opening from there.” Beneficial occupation means that the store is capable of being used for its intended purpose despite minor defects.
Ward 104 councillor Mike Wood said, “I have received numerous enquiries as to when the Spar will reopen.”
According to Urquhart, KwikSpar is finalising supplier tenders for the site development and revamp plans have been finalised.
“We expect the shop to be up and running within the very near future.”
Wood expressed his delight to hear that the shop will be operational soon.
Regarding the health clearance certificate, Urquhart stated that it needed to be addressed with the landlord of the property as this was his responsibility. The landlord had reopened the store to clean it and was liable for any repairs, including the cleaning.
Randburg Sun has tried to contact the landlord and will publish his comments as soon as they are made available.
